(DUSK POV)

I stood, frozen in shock, staring at Socks chained to the wall. Vizor turned to me.

"Well?" Vizor said, "Are you helping me or not?"

"I- I-" I stuttered. Vizor sighed.

"Right. You must have forgotten the godforsaken plan again," he said, "Kill them!"

I turned to Nadwe, Meme, and Blaza, bound in the vine-like tentacles that reached out of the ground. All of them were scared. Somewhere, deep in my mind, there was comfort in that. The part that still lies with my father.

But I shoved that aside. I was not going to become like Vizor.

Not by choice. Not by force.

Vizor walked up to me and handed me a knife. I held it in my hand. It was just the right weight, and fit my hand quite nicely. I looked up at Vizor, who was smiling at me knowingly. I looked over to Nadwe and the others. Nadwe was looking up at me, scared and on the verge of tears. Meme and Blaza glanced at each other worryingly, then looked at me. I turned to Socks, chained still to the pillar. He looked back at me, sadness, fear, and hurt in his eyes.

In my mind, I actually imagined a future where I stayed loyal to my father. I saw myself killing the others, and watching happily as Vizor murdered Socks in his helpless state. We found a way to end human life as we know it. And we returned to Xero, the home I had never known.

But then, I remembered all the happy times I had with the humans. I saw Meme, showing me some tech in MedBay. I saw Dino and Ally, laughing at a joke I had made. I saw Blaza, upset about Nick's death all those months ago, and comforting him in his broken state.

And finally, I saw Nadwe. My best friend. Every fun time we had when I was disguised as MuffinJuice. Even some memories I don't remember - probably something to do with being Muffin for a while. Maybe those are his memories. Among them was Muffin comforting Nadwe, who was looking at his own bloodied hands in shock and fear. When he was a vampire. When he himself thought he was a monster.

In those few seconds, I made my choice.

"No."

Vizor looked at me suspiciously. "No?"

"I am done listening to you," I said. I threw the knife down to the ground, and it dissipated before hitting the floor. Probably shadow matter. "I will not kill my friends."

"Friends?" Vizor questioned. He chuckled. "Dusk, son-"

"Don't call me son!" I snapped. Vizor, surprisingly, backed up a bit.

"You are no father of mine," I growled, "I hate you. And I will never. NEVER! Be like you!"

Vizor stared at me, shocked for a moment. I held my furious gaze. Then, Vizor laughed demonically.

"Silly child," he said. He shifted his scythe in his hand. "Wrong choice."

Suddenly, Vizor was on top of me, the scythe's blade inches from my chest. The only thing holding it back?

My own scythe.

I had never summoned my own shadow weapon before. Vizor had never taught me how. He said I'd have to "earn it through sweat and blood," as he liked to say.

I shoved Vizor off of me. He stumbled, surprised at the force. I looked at my weapon in wonder. The long handle was crimson red, and the blade, instead of deep blood red like Vizor's, was a light orange on one end, fading to black at the tip.

"I see you've managed to summon your weapon," Vizor said, "As you can see, we will always be tied. You can't escape your destiny."

I gripped the scythe in my hand. My gaze met Vizor's. "We'll see about that,"

I lunged at Vizor, swinging the deadly weapon like I had used it my whole life. Which, technically, I have. The shadow weapon ties with your soul, making it a part of you, and easy to control. As if it's a power-up, that needs to be unlocked for it to work properly. 

We fought for about five minutes at least - but time is hard to tell down here. There's no sun underground. But either way, I felt my fatigue growing with every swing and dodge, while Vizor seemed to fight with ease, untiring.

"You are growing weak," he said, "Impressive. Didn't think you could get weaker than you already were."

His words boiled my blood, seeming to fill me with adrenaline. "We'll see who's weak after this."

And at that, I swung my scythe with all of my might, aiming for Vizor's throat. Vizor intercepted it, knocking my weapon to the ground. It dissipated into shadow one more. I tried to summon it back, but my energy seemed to be fading by the second.

Vizor chuckled. "I thought if you had learned at least one thing from me, it would be to save some energy in case you need to re-summon your weapon. But your ignorance has taken hold of you once more."

Vizor held his scythe blade up to my neck. I was too exhausted to do anything but lay there, praying that I would get out of this somehow.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted off the ground. Vizor had me wrapped in shadow. I struggled to get free, but tired quickly.

"Dusk, Dusk, Dusk," Vizor said, "Never get into fights you know you can't win."

"NO!" I heard someone - Nadwe, I think - scream.

And at that, I felt a sudden tsunami of pain in my neck, and all went black.

-----------------

(SOCKS POV)

Dusk's neck snapped with a sickening crunch that echoed throughout the cavern, and probably would in my brain for the rest of my life. He fell to the ground, limp as a rag doll, his eyes glazed in his final moments of fear. I felt tears running down my face, and I sobbed right there. Dusk may have been the son of my enemy, but he was a friend nonetheless. 

Vizor turned to me. I saw some blood had splattered on his face, making him look like even more of a murderer than he was. "Enjoy the show?"

"Your sick," I said, "You just murdered your own son in cold blood, no I did not enjoy it! And you know that!"

"I thought being the British one was my job," Vizor chuckled.

"JUST TEASIAE YEAN!" I cried out, "YOU'VE CAUSED ENOUGH PAIN, NOW LEAVE US ALONE!"

"Akik, shut it," Vizor commanded. I tried to say something defiant back, but I had been silenced once again.

"Now that the distractions have been taken care of," Vizor continued, "Let's end this."

Vizor held his scythe to Nadwe's neck. The fifteen-year-old sighed, seeming to give up.

"Just do it," he whimpered, "I've already lost everything. At least I'll see them when I'm dead."

"Nadwe, no!" Meme said, "We are not losing you, too!"

Nadwe looked over at Meme. "But what's the point? There's nothing left for me here."

"What about us?" Meme said, "And your girlfriend, Monika? Think about her!"

"She's not even real, Meme," Nadwe sighed. Tears spilled from his eyes. If he just confessed Monika was not real, I knew he was broken inside.

Vizor smiled. "Interesting. You DO want to die. That makes my job a bit easier."

I felt my rage filling up inside of me. I could not just let this happen. The voices of our deceased friends, (and the ghosts of the people I really hadn't met), and the voices of my dead family members, seemed to fill my mind, fueling the raging inferno of hate inside of me.

Ally: Do it, Socks.

Dino: I believe in you.

Laff: C'mon, mate. Give him what he deserves.

Nick: Avenge them.

Tbh: I know you can beat him.

Thea (Sock's Mother): You can do it, my son.

Asra (Sock's dad): Be strong, Akik.l

Dusk: Do it for everyone.

Then, I let loose the emotions I had bottled up inside in those few seconds.

--------

(BLAZA POV)

The force knocked me backwards a ways, breaking my bindings. I felt my head hit a rock, and it throbbed, somehow not bleeding. My ears rang, and my vision doubled. Not like I could see much anyway - the entire cavern was lit with a ghostly light. When it faded and my vision cleared, I saw Vizor, scythe in hand, facing a glowing figure not too far away from him. It was Socks.

But I was not prepared to see what he had become.

In place of Socks was a glowing, angelic figure. His yellow eye glowed a blinding white, and his other eye was as it normally was, but his red pupil glowed just as bright as his other eye. His wingspan seemed to have extended, and his tentacles had come back out, dripping with the unnamed black substance excessively. His horns had also grown a bit. A glowing yellow halo had appeared over his head.

(RIP half of my sharpies ;^;)

"So the legends are true," Vizor said, "I must say, I didn't believe them myself. But, I guess I underestimated the power of Xero's two most powerful species."

Socks growled. "I will give you one chance to surrender yourself," he said, his voice echoing with the voices of what seemed like a thousand souls, "Or face the consequences."

"Angels," Vizor sneered, "Always act so 'merciful' when they're about to kill someone."

"I take that as a no," Socks said. In his hands appeared two daggers, the blades being a prismatic crystalline material that most likely isn't from Earth. "Very well."

Vizor smiled and lunged, swinging his scythe in an arc of destruction. He had hit Socks fatally, but Socks didn't even flinch. Vizor seemed to hit open air. He caught himself in midair. He looked back up at Socks.

"Always evading the fight. Typical," Vizor said.

Socks said nothing, but summoned a tentacle of shadow and a glowing ray of light, seeming to command them as if dogs on a leash. He pointed at Vizor, and soon, Vizor had been trapped. He struggled to get free for a moment, then realized his current situation. He had been caught. And now, he was about to meet his end.

"Any last words, Vizor?" Socks asked.

Vizor, for the first time, looked genuinely frightened. "Akik... I'm sure we can talk this through! Just let me down- ah!" Vizor cried out in pain as Socks wrapped his actual tentacles around Vizor as well, probably breaking his ribcage.

"It's too late for apologies, Vizor," Socks said. "Goodbye. Forever."

Socks raised his claws, then, with all of his might, brought them across Vizor's neck.

Vizor coughed weakly. Blood dribbled out of his mouth. His breathing was shallow. Socks let him drop to the floor, where he lay, weak and dying, paying with his suffering for all the pain he had caused.

He sat there, gasping for breath, until all of a sudden, he lay still and unmoving.

The demon was dead.

Socks turned to me. I shielded my eyes for a moment to keep myself from going blind, since his eyes were still basically made of the sun. When I noticed it fade away, I moved my arm to see Socks collapse on the floor.

"Socks!" I cried out. I got up and ran to him, ignoring the throbbing in my head. I knelt down next to him and tried to shake him awake. Meme ran over and checked his pulse.

"He's alive," Meme said, "But he's exhausted. He needs medical attention, but I don't have my stuff!" 

"We need to get him up to the surface!" I said.

"But how? He's the only one alive that can fly, and he's too exhausted to do it!"

I turned to see where Nadwe went. I saw him next to Dusk's body, just staring at him.

"I'll be right back," I said. I walked over to Nadwe.

Nadwe was kneeling down next to the body of the demon hybrid, holding his limp hand. I could see tears streaming down his face.

"Dusk..." He whimpered, "Please. Wake up."

I knew he wouldn't. Dusk was obviously dead - we all heard the sickening snap of his neck as he had fallen to the ground. But I felt comfort in the fact that, even now, Nadwe still has hope. Even after all he had been through.

"Don't leave me, buddy... I need you..." Nadwe cried softly. Dusk still lay still as stone. Nadwe sobbed, laying down on Dusk's chest as he clutched his hand. The scene broke my heart into pieces. 

As Nadwe continued to cry over the body of his friend, I turned back to Meme and Socks. Meme was attempting to perform CPR on him, but he's most likely never done it on a nephalem, so he had no idea what he was doing. I walked back over to him.

"Meme, stop," I said. Meme looked up at me.

"It's all I can think of that could save him," Meme said, "There's... Nothing else I can do."

I breathed a shaky breath. If Socks died... I might as well kill myself. There wouldn't be anything left for me in this world.

I knelt down beside Sock's unconscious form. I hugged him. It didn't feel real, because he didn't hug back.

Until suddenly, I heard his voice.

"B... Blaza?"

I gasped and looked down at him.

And there he was.

"Socks!" I cried in relief. I wrapped my arms around him, and he did back. I felt like I was going to cry, so I did. I didn't care at this point.

I was just thankful he was alive.

"Alright, alright, let me breathe!" Socks said. I didn't want to let go, but I did.

I got off of Socks and he stood up.

"How did-" Meme started, but Socks held up his hand.

"Nope. We're not gonna question it, because I don't know either," Socks said. Meme just shrugged.

I realized Nadwe was still over near Dusk's body. I turned and saw him, still sobbing over his dead friend. Socks saw this too. He walked over and crouched down beside him.

"I'm sorry, Nadwe..." I whispered. I put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, his eyes red from crying.

"Why did he have to die?" Nadwe said.

"I would tell you if I knew," Socks replied, "But what if I told you I might be able to help?"

Nadwe looked up at Socks. "W-what?"

"In using my powers like I did earlier..." Socks said, "I guess I realized how far they went. I might be able to revive him now."

"Y-you could?" Nadwe looked up in hope.

"Maybe," Socks said, "It's a chance, but maybe."

"Do it!" Nadwe said, "Please!"

Nadwe stood and backed up a little bit. Socks put one hand on Dusk's forehead and his other hand on Dusk's chest. He closed his eyes, as if focusing everything he had in him into bringing him back. His hands started to glow softly, but the light got stronger. It didn't quite reach the capacity the light did earlier, but it was still hard to look at.

As the glow faded, Meme and I walked over to see if it worked. Nadwe ran over and knelt down, looking hopefully to see if it worked. His neck was no longer at an unnatural angle that makes my stomach turn, so that's a start.

And we saw his chest rise and fall.

"He's alive!" Nadwe said. He hugged Socks tightly. "Thank you, Socks!"

"Please," Socks said. He turned to me and smiled. "Call me Akik."

----------------

Oh

My 

Cod

I CRIED MAKING THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER

and if ur wondering why Socks didn't revive everyone, it's because he didn't realize he could. So.

2545 words wtz :O